Who is Cecily Vessey?

Cecily Vessey lives in South London, England. She studied Jewellery and Silversmithing at the John Cass, graduating in 2009. Soon after she decided that drawing was where the focus of her creativity lay and she has worked as an artist ever since. She draws all things architecture-related. Cecily uses specialist draughts(wo)man pens, pencil and Indian ink for her drawings. She uses water based ink to hand screen print her reproductions.

Clients have included; Tower Bridge, The Natural History Museum, Design Museum, Houses of Parliament, Tate Modern and The Shard.

‘New ideas come to me when I’m out and about, either pedalling around or walking. I try not to get the tube in London as I like to see the buildings and the views as I travel. I also find travelling to new towns and cities inspiring. Whenever I go somewhere new I try to find a high view point and take in the landscape, I love the variations in something as everyday as a rooftop and seeing all the ways in which it has been interpreted over the years.’

Cecily has made the decision to use factories based in the UK to create her items. Not only does this support British industry but it also makes for shorter lead times when producing bespoke items, as well as allowing factory visits to see firsthand how products make their journey from ideas to reality. The ceramics are decorated in the historic pottery district of Stoke-on-Trent and the textiles printed at a family run factory in Lincolnshire. Cecily screen prints her prints at Sonsoles Print Studio in Peckham.

Cecily spent her teenage years living in Oxford, during which time she was lucky enough to visit the studio of printmaker Joe Winkleman. Seeing his workspace was incredibly inspiring and gave her the first inkling that ‘artist’ could be a viable career path.

Three others artists that struck a chord with Cecily at that time were; John Singer-Sargent’s Venice series, Ben Nicholson’s drawings and Van Gogh’s preliminary sketches. Each have an idiosyncratic, unique style that Cecily loves and is inspired by.

Oxford is where Cecily fell in love with architecture - but it is also where she realised she was hopeless at drawing perspective correctly (although this is slowly improving). It was during this time that she stumbled upon a book about Ben Nicholson containing the following quote: ‘Ben was the only one who couldn’t draw, a preposterous statement unless we interpret ‘couldn’t draw’ as couldn’t copy’’. This quote played a huge part in giving her the confidence to pursue a career in drawing and is pinned up on her studio wall to this day.

Aside from drawing Cecily loves to cycle - she has ridden across Mexico, parts of China, from Land’s End to John o'Groats, the C2C, the ‘Dunwich Dynamo’ and has completed the ‘London-Surrey Ride 100’ three times. Her next trip is London to Paris - the slower route, focusing on maximum food stops and hunting out the architectural gems along the way!